Reddit reviews Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface with Pro Tools | First

Let's start from the top.
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• Here's my Handy Dandy Microphone Guide to get you started. I recommend you create a budget before you go mic shopping.
  
  
• Avoid any and all hardware mixers. If you mess up your EQ from the get-go, there's no fixing it later. Always record flat, and EQ in post. Digital EQ's are all but indistinguishable from their analog predecessors.
  
  
• If you want to use an XLR mic (read the guide) you'll need an interface. A Focusrite will be an excellent investment, if you choose to go that route. A Focusrite Scarlett Solo will be perfect, if it's just you, or your cohost won't be recording in the same house as you, but an 18i8 will be pretty much the max any podcaster will ever need (I use an 18i20, but I later realized it was definitely overkill)
  
  
• As for software, Garageband is perfect to start. I would recommend Mixcraft, or Reaper, but they're both Mixcraft is Windows-only (Reaper has a Mac version. Thanks for the correction @Cassinpants), and I assume you have a Mac, since you have GB.
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  My personal setup is:
  
  -Focusrite 18i20
  
  -Electrovoice Re20 + Heil PR40
  
  -Custom PC (i7 6700k/ Fury X/ 16Gib DDR5 RAM, Hard drives for days)
  
  -Mixcraft 8
  
  -various plugins
  
  -Libsyn
  
  Hope this helps, for now! See you back, soon, to figure out RSS ;D
  
  
  
  
  Edit: Added multiple links
  

All of the mics you are looking at cannot be connected directly to a laptop or desktop. They have to hook up to a preamp and an analog to digital converter. Audio interfaces have both of these built into one unit, and they usually have a USB output on them that connects to your laptop (some still use Firewire or Thunderbolt instead). As an example, here is a link to the interface that I use. This one has 8 microphone inputs, which would be overkill for you since you're only recording one mic. There's plenty of 1 and 2 mic input interfaces out there that would suit you well.

Haha, yep that's me! Really into Melee, and I'm studying Audio at OU.



SO there's a whole lot you can do with a $1.5-2k budget. Most of my recommendations are going to focus on microphones, but if you're not trying to do that much recording, you can discard that advice and spend more budget on keys and synthesizers—however, making your own samples and working with them can be pretty cool, fun, and very professional-sounding. I'm speaking from already deep into this rabbit hole, so note my bias. BUT! For that budget you can basically get a near-professional quality mini-studio's worth of gear, if you so choose.

In my opinion, if you're just starting out, Piracy can save you a lot of cash that you can better put towards your gear. If your budget is ~1.5k, I would say pirate Logic Pro if you have a Mac machine, or Ableton/Adobe Audition if you have a Windows machine (PM me if you'd like ;) ). You don't really need all of NI Komplete when you're starting out, especially if you get Logic Pro, because they have a LOT of built in instruments. Also, NI packages can be piratable too. This is all assuming, of course that you're comfortable with pirating software, I understand if you're not, but it can save some cash, and you don't really need a license until you start making real good stuff that you plan on selling/making a business out of.

As far as gear is concerned, if you're serious about recording you might outgrow your Scarlett pretty fast, since it only has 2 mic preamps. You might want to consider a TASCAM 16x08 or a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20. These will let you handle 8 microphones at the same time, which means you can also get a mic kit for your drums. This will get you the absolute best sound out of your drums (provided you learn to use them properly, of course). Learning how to mic drums is a really cool process and there's a lot of room for really making it your own and experimenting with different techniques.

As far as drum mics go, you have cheapest quality at Pyle Pro Mic Kit, Medium Quality at CAD Audio Mic Kit, High Quality at AKG Mic Kit, and professional quality with an Audix DP7 Mic Kit. Even with these, you're still going to want something versatile too.

If you want to also sample some stuff IRL or record other instruments, then get one or two good Dynamic Mics to handle Vocals, Guitar cabs, or wind instruments. You're spot on with the Shure SM57, that thing is a swiss army knife of a microphone and is nearly indestructible. You probably can't go wrong with a matching pair, but you could also go for a SM57 and a Sennheiser e609 to cover all your bases, as the e609 will probably sound better on a guitar cab if you're looking to record guitars.

Okay, now MIDI! The Akai Pro MPK Mini II is a good bet and will definitely do all that you need it to, but if you find yourself needing more keys, there are some good midi controllers out there for just about the same price, for example an M-Audio Controller. It doesn't have as many programmable knobs, but that shouldn't matter unless you're using it to control a software synthesizer, and you need to utilize cutoff, attack, resonance, etc. on the fly. If you're really set on electronic music, then the Akai may be right up your alley, since these knobs will give you more control over your tone.

Aside from that, if you have these tools you can do nearly anything. Check out YouTube tutorials, learn how to use a sampler, learn what the different knobs on a synth do, and get some basic production background and get started! Experimenting in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is really fun, so I think the best thing you can do when you're starting of is mess around and see what you can do. Best of luck, let me know if you have any questions.

Have you considered an interface instead? I made the switch to a Focusrite Scarlet 18i20, though they have models with less inputs. I love it so much more than a mixer. It allows you to record each mic by track individually for better editing.

Okay, thanks for the help. I still don't understand the difference between a mixer and interface though. Doesn't this do the same thing as this?

I think it's easier if I just explain what I use.

My drums are mic'ed into the Scarlett 18i20 interface which offers output mixing through its software. I then have my DAW (Reaper) recording while the interface sends the raw signal into a mixer which sits next to the kit (this one). I can then run another output from the PC with the track/click I'm recording to, and mix those two signals accordingly. I then use these in ear monitors which do a good job of blocking out my drums' acoustics and let me listen to just the mix at whatever volume I'm comfortable with.

Pretty simple setup.

I don’t have much to offer about PC building, but I come from an audio engineering background. Don’t invest in a fancy internal sound card. You will likely wind up using an external audio interface which has AD and DA conversion built in. I would personally recommend Universal Audio Arrow or something like a Focusrite Solo. These will out perform many internal sound cards as they are designed for music production.

Edit: I see you are interested in 7.1. I would recommend still an external pro level interface with quarter inch over a sound card with 8th inch adapters. Check out the Focusrite 8x8

That's simple. Just pick up one of these, and connect it to an interface that supports it. Usually those interfaces already have at least 2 mic inputs, and can take additional external preamps. I found a few presonus bluetube preamps used that worked. Then connect the Behringer to the interface and you have usually up to 16 channels at once.

The following interfaces support ADAT, and already record 8 tracks, so you'll have 16 channels if you add Behringer unit, no need for anything else.

A good option is the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20.
Another one is the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC1820 if you need something a little cheaper.

Most computers can't deal with 8 USB mics at once, on top of the fact those mics don't work well all in the same room together. I would get a USB XLR mixer and some dynamic mics.

8 people seems like a lot? This mixer goes up to 6 via XLR and is pretty affordable. Behringer is an "affordable" brand.

Speaking of Behringer, these mics are pretty decent for the price. They will slightly pick up others in the room, but nothing a simple gate in post can't fix. I don't know your budget, but if you want to get fancier, you can go with the MXL BCD-1.

I use the Focusrite 18i20, it's way more pricey.


I enjoy using Reaper.FM, it's $79 on both Mac/PC. It can record your software and edit it. I'm on Mac, I record everything with Audio Hijack first, then do my post in Reaper.

If you have more questions, let me know. I can get more specific with other stuff if you care.

Hey you need overall 3 things:

1. Gear
   
2. A room
   
3. Software
   
   /
   
   
4. Gear:
   
   -Audio Interface:
   
   You want a number of channels depending on the type of groups you wanna record and the size of the group. Example: 18 Channels (8 mics) v.s. 2 channels (2 mics)
   
   -Microphones:
   
   You want basic versatile microphones and specialized ones for the type of instruments you wanna record.
   
   Example of basic mics: Shure sm-57 Dynamic Mic and AKG 414 Condenser Mic
   
   Those two have a fairly transparent frequency response and work for most scenarios but you also want mics that work better for certain instruments because of their coloration or diaphragm or polar pattern.
   
   -Monitoring:
   
   You need some headphones like the Audio Technical M50x which are transparent enough and good for the price although you could go a little further and look for Sennheiser HD or some of the expensive AKG stuff.
   
   -Accessories and cables
   
   You want good quality XLR cables, two direct boxes like this one and probably a direct box with pre amp like the Avalon U5 (great for sending bass via line, skipping the bass amp part, which can be great for live sessions). Both depend on the type of music you are gonna record of course (first example works for connecting stuff like a keyboard and the Avalon well for bass is great).
   
   You may want a monitor amplifier like Behringer Powerplay for distributing audio to the players or producers or audience via headphones monitors.
   
   Also check out EquipBoard to see what gear are other producers or studios using. They have a good database and is good reference.
   
   
   
5. If you wanna do it like TinyDesk then you wanna have a nice room with good isolation and space for your musicians. Well, mostly for the sound. There are 2 ways of recording live sessions: Either you isolate most of the musicians or you use proper recording techniques and use your mics intelligently to get a good mix before your Mixing stage. You may wanna look for highly directional mics.
   
   You also wanna look on isolation techniques and architecture if you wanna have good natural reverberation or just have control over what the sound is doing, including annoying neighbors if that’s the case. Look for how to soundproof a room in the internet and try read a little about acoustics if you haven’t.
   
   You may wanna to set up 2 rooms: a live room and a control room. The live room would be where you record the musicians and have way more soundproofing and the control would just need to isolate enough and allow visual contact with the ppl in the live room. If you go for 2 rooms you may need to set up the ins and outs and pass cables through the wall in a snake cable like this Hosa or this bigger one . The purpose of having 2 rooms is partly because you wanna monitor with speakers not only headphones (as well as having more recording gear there but it only applies to bigger studios). Example Yamaha HS8 x2 or the KRK . Those are fairly priced options and you will get more value out of them if you are the one mixing the music as they can be better references than just headphones.
   
   
6. For software you should consider Pro Tools as is the industry standard. I personally enjoy Logic Pro and there are a lot more options out there some of which are free. If you are not gonna go a lot into mixing and do the post production maybe Pro Tools Ultimate is a bit of an overkill but if you are looking to do the mix you may also wanna get some audio plugins. Look for Waves or Arturia plugins online (most of which is simulations of real hardware) which will give a “better” sound to your mixes if used well. It also depends a little on the genre or type of music you are producing.
   
   
   
   That’s it. I was very broad but I did mentioned some basic equipment you can start budgeting. If you need more details about the basics PM me and can help you a bit more, I’m no specialist on some stuff like exquisite mics but know about a bunch that are generally used. Are you in Vancouver by chance? I can help you in the actual physical setup if you are.
   
   Cheers.
   
   Edit: You probably want a powerful laptop or a desktop computer btw but I figure out you already have one.

My bandmate who's going to be doing a lot of production work said that he's willing to drop the cash to get the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20.

How do you think that The Saffire holds up to The Scarlett? It would be great to free up some money to invest in other production gear. Also, how would you rank the quality of your microphones? From my current (and amateur) perspective, those seems like professional quality microphones.

Quick question : does this look like a good interface ? Is it USB-enabled and does it work with StudioOne or the likes ? I searched a lot but I couldn't seem to find something. Sorry for the dumb question haha

https://www.amazon.ca/Focusrite-Scarlett-18i20-Audio-Interface/dp/B01E6T54KQ?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAIMNG3ZFQR7FL5AXA&tag=drummingreview1-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01E6T54KQ